About
I got my start as a soda jerk at a 50s-style diner sitting at the confluence of two highways. Hells Angels, high schoolers sharing a milkshake, ranch hands, construction workers, families fresh from Sunday church, trust funders, local journalists. As a teenager, I learned something from every single table. It made my world feel bigger than the sum of its parts.
I've been in hospitality since the late 90s, and the industry taught me things no design program would have. Not just how spaces feel, but how they function from the inside out. I've thought about guest experience from both sides of the pass. I know what it means to design something that works for the person carrying the tray as much as the person sitting at the table. Restaurants are not for the faint of heart, and neither is building something from scratch. That education paid my rent and sharpened my eye in equal measure.
What I learned early, and what still guides my work, is that good design and good spaces do the same thing. They don't just accommodate people. They extend an invitation. A great room pulls you in before anyone says a word. A great logo does exactly the same thing.
My work has lived across a few different disciplines that, from the outside, probably look unrelated. I create visual identities and brand systems for food and beverage businesses. I've founded and operated two Portland neighborhood businesses: Bar Diane, a full-service bar, and Négociant, a cafe, wine shop, and market. I co-founded a traveling market series. I spent years writing about the cultural fabric of this city for Willamette Week.
What I've learned across all of it is that design and good spaces do the same work. They extend a welcome before anyone has to ask for one. I bring that thinking whether I'm developing a visual identity, building a brand from scratch, or activating a space that's never had a use before.
I'm based in Portland. I work with people who care about where they are and what they're building there.